Japanese productivity and quality standards have fired the imagination of American managers, but until now there has been little explanation of how to do it -- how to apply Japanese methods at the actual operating level of U.S. manufacturing plants. This book shows you how, exposing otherwise well-informed westernized readers to a new world of management ideas. Author Richard J. Schonberger demonstrates that the Japanese formula for success is based on a number of specific, interrelated techniques -- stunning in their simplicity -- and he shows how these techniques can be put to work in American industries today. Here, in a clear, handbook format, are nine "lessons" for American manufacturers, introducing scores of techniques aimed at simplifying the overly-complex purchasing, inventory, assembly-fine, and quality-control processes of U.S. firms. At the heart of Japanese manufacturing success are two overlapping strategies: "just-in-time" production and "total quality control." Some American manufacturers already know a little about these methods, but Richard Schonberger provides the most comprehensive description of these techniques available: how they developed, how they all fit together, why they are so potent, and how they "snowball" -- unleashing a powerful chain reaction of productivity and quality control improvements each time more simplification is introduced. -- Publisher description.

Over the last two decades, Japanese firms have challenged U.S. dominance in many manufacturing industries. This challenge has increasingly come in the form of transplant operations, and recognition has spread that their success owes a great deal to superior manufacturing management. Despite the ups and downs of the business cycle in Japan, there remains a core of world-class Japanese companies that have developed manufacturing management systems that companies throughout the world strive to emulate. In this edited volume, a team of eminent scholars uses case studies and large-scale surveys to explain in depth the process of transferring and transforming the best Japanese Management Systems (JMS) by both Japanese- and U.S.-owned firms. While the most successful of the Japanese manufacturing transplants rely, to varying degrees, on home country management techniques, they have had to adapt them to fit U.S. conditions. Similarly, the growing number of U.S. firms that are adopting these techniques to strengthen their own positions face a considerable challenge in transforming them to fit local conditions. A new environment necessarily compels the transformation of JMS. But despite the hurdles firms face, the evidence presented here and elsewhere strongly indicates that key aspects of JMS are remarkably transferable and successful in the United States. Combining scientific data with clear and engaging prose,Remade in America is a rich analytical resource for manufacturing professionals, as well as scholars and students of management and business.

Surveying a wide variety of disciplines, this fully-revised 7th edition offers a sophisticated and engaging treatment of the rapidly expanding field of organizational communication Places organizations and organizational communication within a broader social, economic, and cultural context Applies a global perspective throughout, including thoughtful consideration of non-Western forms of leadership, as well as global economic contexts Offers a level of sophistication and integration of ideas from a variety of disciplines that makes this treatment definitive Updated in the seventh edition: Coverage of recent events and their ethical dimensions, including the bank crisis and bailouts in the US and UK Offers a nuanced, in-depth discussion of technology, and a new chapter on organizational change Includes new and revised case studies for a fresh view on perennial topics, incorporating a global focus throughout Online Instructors' Manual, including sample syllabi, tips for using the case studies, test questions, and supplemental case studies

Finance is a notoriously difficult core subject for business undergraduates, which many find difficult to understand. The area has been dominated by large and complex introductory texts - often from the US - which many lecturers find too detailed and unwieldy. This carefully developed and researched text will fill this gap by providing a succinct, modular, UK-focused introduction to the subject of financial management. Quality controlled by an academic review panel, the content and approach has been rigorously developed to answer the needs of non-finance students. The user-friendly features and design will be of great appeal to the many undergraduates who find finance a difficult subject. Examples, models, formulas, and exercises are lucidly and clearly presented, supported by strong pedagogical features - learning objectives, worked examples, key learning points, further reading, practical assignments, references, case studies and teacher's guide. This ensures that Financial Management will prove the most accessible text for business and finance students.